Invalid chair



Nov. 2, 1965 F. B. WAMSLEY 3, ,4

INVALID CHAIR Filed March 5, 1962 4 Sheets-$heet 1 INVENTORZZ L g M F.B. WAMSLEY INVAL Nov. 2, 1965 ID CHAIR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5,1962 INVENTOR. Z. Mar/26' d BY v7 Il/llllll I Evy Nov. 2, 1965 FiledMarch 5, 1962 F. B. WAMSLEY INVALID CHAIR 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 2, 1965F. B. WAMSLEY 3,215,459

INVALID CHAIR Filed March 5, 1962 4 h tsSheet 4 United States Patent3,215,469 INVALID CHAIR Floyd B. Wamsley, Glendora, Califi, assignor toHelen E. Beart, Park Ridge, Ill. Filed Mar. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 177,570 6Claims. (Cl. 297-348) This invention relates to invalid chairs, andconcerns particularly a wheel chair which may be used in associationwith a bed and with a toilet in a novel and improved manner. The chairis of the general type shown in my prior Patent No. 2,869,614, datedJanuary 20, 1959.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wheel chair of theforegoing type which is more compact, so that it may be more readilymanipulated within the interior of dwellings or hospitals, while at thesame time having the necessary range of operation so that it may bereadily used in association with a bed and with a toilet in the intendedmanner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wheel chair of theforegoing type which is of simplified structure, so that it may be morereadily fabricated at low cost to facilitate its range of use, andassembled if necessary by the user with ease and facility.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a wheel chair ofthe foregoing type which is universal in character so that it may beassembled in various manners for cooperative use with different bedarrangements.

Various other objects, advantages and features of the invention Will beapparent from the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodimentof the invention is set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like partsthroughout:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing the various parts of the wheel chairconstructed in accordance with the in vention in one preferredembodiment thereof;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail view of one of the control mechanisms usedin the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the mechanism of FIG. 2 taken on the line33 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the structure illustrating the parts in sittingposition;

FIG. 5 is a detail view of the lower frame assembly taken as indicatedby the line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional illustrative view taken as indicated by the line66 of FIG. 4, certain parts being omitted for clarity, and the structurebeing shown in association with a bed;

FIG. 7 is a side illustrative view showing the structure in associationwith a toilet;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, illustrating the structure from thefront, certain parts being omitted for clarity;

FIG. 9 is a top View of the seat structure;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged detail View more particularly showing the seatstructure in association with a toilet, and illustrating the seatoperating mechanism;

FIG. 11 is a detail View showing the seat operating mechanism of FIG. 10in a different position; and

FIG. 12 is a detail view of a part of the operating mechanism of FIG. 11taken as indicated by the line 12-12 thereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, and first to the explodedview in FIG. 1, it will be seen that the chair structure comprises aseat generally indicated by the foot rest structure 16, an arm structure18, of which one is illustrated in FIG. 1, a chair frame supportstructure reference numeral 10, a back rest 12, a leg rest 14, a 20, anda seat and a seat operating mechanism generally indicated by thereference numeral 22. Two control 3,215,459 Patented Nov. 2, 1965mechanisms respectively for the back and leg rest are indicated at 24,26.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, it will be seen that thelower frame structure more specifically comprises a pair of longitudinalframe members 28 and 30, tubular in form, member 28 having weldedthereto three upright tubular members as indicated at 32, 34 and 36.Tube member 34 carries a nut 38 at its upper end. Nut 38 is adapted tothreadedly receive a screw shaft 40 formed as a part of the upper frameassembly arranged to be welded to the chair seat 10, and the upper frameassembly further comprises two tubular members 42 and 44 adapted to betelescopically received by the tubes 32 and 36 respectively. As bestshown in FIG. 4, members 40, 42 and 44 may be projected downwardlythrough the longitudinal frame tube 28, into the position shown forexample in FIG. 7. By reason of the foregoing arrangement, thetelescoping parts have a maximum range of movement in respect to theirlength.

The lower frame structure further comprises a tubular frame piece ofgeneral U-shape, indicated by the reference numeral 46, FIG. 1, and apair of tubular end caps as indicated at 48 and 50.

It will be seen that by suitably arranging the members 46, 4S and 50, ateither end of the longitudinal frame members 28 and 30, and bypositioning the back and leg rests 12 and 14 at the desired ends of theseat 10, the chair structure may be adapted for use with different bedarrangements within a room, as will presently appear.

As best shown in FIG. 4, the lower frame assembly may be held togetherby removable bolts 52 received within the frame holes 54.

The holes 54 also provide support for pins 56, FIG. 4, by means of whichthe frame structure may be supported by suitable wheel casters asindicated at 58, which wheel casters may be of any suitable standardconstruction.

As best shown in FIG. 4, cross tubular member 60 which interconnects thedepending leg tubes 42 and 44 is arranged to be welded or otherwisesecured to tubular member 62 forming one of the longitudinal tubularframe parts of the generally rectangular seat frame structure 10. Theseat further comprises a central sheet metal portion or member 64 havinga central opening 66, and four extending arms arranged in pairs asindicated respectively at 68 and 70, FIG. 1.

The back rest 12 comprises a tubular rectangular frame 72 provided atone end with a pair of extending arms 74, FIG. 1, carrying pivot pins 76arranged to be received within openings 78 in the seat arms 68.

Similarly the leg rest 14 comprises a tubular frame '80 having a pair ofarms 82 projecting at one end thereof carrying pins 84 adapted to bereceived within opening 86 in the seat arms 70.

To control the movements of the back rest and leg rest relative to theseat, control mechanisms as indicated at 24 and 26 are provided, thecontrol mechanism 26 being shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. Bothcontrol mechanisms are of generally similar structure and only one needbe specifically described.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, it will be seen that control mechanism 26comprises a frame or housing 88 arranged to be welded or otherwisesecured to the arm 70 of the seat frame 62. Pin 84 is journalled withina worm gear 90, a one way ball clutch being provided therebetween asindicated at 92, FIG. 2. By this arrangement it will be seen that thepin 84 may be freely rotated counterclockwise in respect to the wormgear 90 so that the leg rest 14 may be correspondingly freely movedcounterclockwise or lifted upwardly, but the leg rest and pin cannot belowered or moved clockwise unless the worm gear 90 is correspondinglyrotated.

Worm gear 90 is in geared engagement with a worm 94 secured to a shaft96, which shaft also carries a worm gear 98 arranged for operation by aworm 100 provided with a crank receiving socket as indicated at 102.

g It will be seen that when the crank 104, FIG. 1, is manipulated withinthe socket 102 the leg rest 14 may be lowered as desired. However, theleg rest may be raised or moved counterclockwise merely by lifting itwithout operation of the crank. The worm and worm gear arrangements areso provided that the mechanism is self-locking, viz., the leg restcannot be lowered except by suitable actuation of the crank.

Control mechanism 24 for the back rest 12 is similarly arranged to bewelded or otherwise secured to the arm 68 of the seat and arranged toreceive the pin 76 of the back rest for crank manipulation in a similarmanner. The arrangement is such that the back rest likewise may beraised freely without manipulation of the crank, but lowered under crankcontrol.

Each arm structure more specifically comprises a horizontally extendinglink or member 106, FIGS. 1 and 4, and a vertically extending link 108pivotally connected thereto. The free end of link 106 is arranged to bepivotally connected to the back rest, whereas the free or lower end oflink 108 is arranged to be pivotally connected to the seat frame, andthe length of the links is such that as the back rest is raised the armstructure is automatically brought into the position shown in FIG. 4,from its lower dotted line position. Link 108 may be connected toopening 109 or opening 111 depending on whether the back rest is mountedto the left or right of the seat.

The leg rest 80 is arranged to carry a suitable extensible foot rest,previously mentioned, and generally indicated by the reference numeral16, FIG. 1. This foot rest structure more specifically comprises a pairof clamps 110 and 112 adapted to be suitably clamped to the leg restframe 80, these clamps carrying a cross bar 114, FIGS. 1 and 8,pivotally supporting a suitable foot rest 116.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 10, 11 and 12, it will be seen that there isprovided a seat plate 118 arranged to fit within the opening 66 of theseat, in coplanar disposition to the sheet metal seat member 64, saidmember 118 being adapted to move from an upper position as shown in fulllines in FIG. 10 to a lower position as shown in dotted lines by meansof an operating mechanism which more specifically comprises a lever 120welded or otherwise secured to the plate 118, and an operating handlelever 122. Referring to FIG. 10, it will be seen that lever 120 ispivotally mounted upon a bracket 124 carried by the upper frame member60, said lever 120 being provided with a slot 126 arranged to receive apin 128 carried by operating lever 122 which latter lever is alsopivotally mounted upon the bracket 124 as indicated at 130, FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 shows the parts when the lever 122 has been actuatedcounterclockwise to lower the seat plate 118 into its dotted lineposition of FIG. 10. It will be seen that when the parts are in the fullline position of FIG. 10, the seat plate 118 is locked in its uppermostposition by a toggle positioning of the parts.

FIG. 12 more specifically shows the arrangement of the pin 128 and itsmanner of cooperation within the slot 126 of the lever 120. It will beseen that the pin 128 comprises a threaded fastener threaded into thelever 122 and suitably headed so as to provide adequate and freeclearance movement within the slot 126.

As shown for example in FIGS. 4 and 10, foam cushion pads 132,134 and136 are preferably provided respectively for the back rest, seat and legrest, and the seat plate member 118 is provided with foam cushioning134:: for comating arrangement with the seat pad 134.

In operation, the back rest, seat and leg rest may be manipulated intohorizontal position, and the seat height suitably adjusted vertically,so as to bring the structure over a bed mattress 138 as indicated inFIG. 6, and in dotted lines in FIG. 4. As previously stated, the legrest and the back rest may be lifted freely, but are manipulateddownwardly by crank control through the action of the control mechanisms24 and 26 as previously described. The vertical adjustment of the seatis effected by manipulation of the crank to effect rotation of the screw40 within the nut 38. For this purpose the upper end of the screw isprovided with a bevel gear 140, FIG. 4, adapted for meshing engagementwith a bevel gear 142 having a crank opening 144. Crank 104 is removablefor operation of control mechanisms 24 and 26.

With the parts positioned as indicated in FIG. 6, the patient may berolled from the bed mattress onto the chair structure, and it will benoted that at this time the arms of the chair are automatically loweredso that the chair structure forms an essentially fiat surface forreceiving the patient.

The chair may then be moved laterally away from the bed and the backrest and leg rest manipulated into sitting position as indicated in FIG.4, full lines.

The manner in which the structure may be manipulated over a toilet isindicated in FIGS. 7 and 8, and prior to the positioning of thestructure over the toilet the plate 118 may be lowered to dotted lineposition as indicated in FIG. 10. When used in association with atoilet, the seat height may be adjusted as desired and the back rest andleg rest may also be adjusted into desired vertical position asindicated for example in FIG. 7.

When the structure is manipulated to sitting position the arms areautomatically raised as shown in FIG. 4.

It will be seen that the frame structure is so constituted and arrangedthat the structure may be pushed laterally over a bed as shown in FIG. 6and also pushed rearwardly over a toilet bowl as seen in FIGS. 7 and 8.It is further to be noted, as previously mentioned, that by assemblingthe frame in the proper manner, viz., by placement of the transverseframe member 46 either to the left or to the right of the basic framestructure, and by placement of the leg rest and the back rest either tothe right or to the left of the seat, the structure may be arranged forcooperation with either side of a bed as desired, whereby to facilitatethe use of the chair with beds positioned differently in the furniturearrangement of a room. Thus the chair may be made for lateralcooperation with either side of a bed, which may be accessible, andwhether the head end of the bed is to the right or to the left of theaccessible side portion. This is an important feature as it permits asingle basic chair structure to be used with any desired bed furniturearrangement.

It is obvious that various changes may be made in the structure withoutdeparting from the invention. The invention is accordingly not to belimited to the specific structure shown and described but only asindicated in the following claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. A wheel chair comprising a seat, a back rest, a leg rest, and asupport frame, and means for pivotally connecting the back rest and legrest to the seat, said pivot connections including a crank operablegearing including a one way clutch mechanism.

2. A wheel chair comprising a seat, a back rest, a leg rest, and asupport frame, and means for pivotally connecting the back rest and legrest to the seat, said support frame comprising a pair of longitudinalmembers and a transverse member forming a U frame, the transverse memberbeing attachable to either end of the longitudinal members.

3. A wheel chair comprising a seat, a back rest, a leg rest, and asupport frame, and means for pivotally connecting the back rest and legrest to the seat, said support frame comprising a pair of longitudinalmembers and a transverse member forming a U frame, the transverse memberbeing attachable to either end of the longitudinal members, and saidsupport frame being connected to one side only of the seat.

4. A wheel chair comprising a seat, a leg rest, and a back rest,mounting means at opposite ends of the seat pivotally mounting the legrest and back rest for movement form an angular chair position to acoplanar bed position, a toilet opening in the seat, a wheel frame,means interconnecting the seat and wheel frame disposed at one side onlyof the seat, said wheel frame being open at one end, a pair of arm restsoperable between a raised position and a lowered position as the legrest and back rest are pivotally moved, the mounting means at theopposite ends of the seat interchangeably supporting either the leg restor the back rest, and means on opposite sides of the seat for supportingthe arms for extension in either of two opposite directions as the legrest and back rest are interchanged at the opposite ends of the seat.

5. A wheel chair comprising a seat, a leg rest, and a back rest,mounting means at opposite ends of the seat pivotally mounting the legrest and back rest for movement from an angular chair position to acoplanar bed position, a toilet opening in the seat, a wheel frame,means interconnecting the seat and wheel frame disposed at one side onlyof the seat, said wheel frame being open at one end, saidinterconnecting means comprising a screw member and a pair oftelescoping guides disposed on opposite sides of the screw member, saidtelescoping guides including portions movable from an upper position toa lower ground engaging position.

6. A wheel chair comprising a seat, a leg rest, and a back rest,mounting means at opposite ends of the seat pivotally mounting the legrest and back rest for movement from an angular chair position to acoplanar bed position, a toilet opening in the seat, a wheel frame,means interconnecting the seat and Wheel frame disposed at one side onlyof the seat, said wheel frame being open at one end, a closure memberfor said toilet opening, and means for operating said closure member,said operating means comprising a pair of interconnected bell cranks oneof which carries the closure member and the other of which is providedwith a handle, the handle being movable toward vertical position as theclosure member is move away from said toilet opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 570,207 10/96Harry 297443 X 1,895,822 1/33 Rueckart et al. 19245 2,086,550 7/37Hartig 4-134 2,186,301 1/40 La More 297283 2,539,346 1/51 Feist 5-862,587,068 2/52 Sanders 581 2,679,283 5/54 Mahone 297348 2,754,947 7/56Marsden 188--82.84 X 2,784,769 3/57 Fisher 297443 X 2,869,614 1/59Wamsley 5-81 X 2,899,694 8/59 Horowitz 297348 X 3,072,437 1/ 63 Shea etal. 297423 X FOREIGN PATENTS 618,227 9/35 Germany.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

1. A WHEEL CHAIR COMPRISING A SEAT, A BACK REST, A LEG REST, AND ASUPPORT FRAME, AND MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE BACK REST AND LEGREST TO THE SEAT, SAID PIVOT CONNECTIONS INCLUDING A CRANK OPERABLEGEARING INCLUDING A ONE WAY CLUTCH MECHANISM.